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Thursday, 20 July 2017

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

An investigation following the terrorist shooting on July 14
on the Temple Mount Complex in the Old City of Jerusalem revealed that an
accomplice brought weapons into the compound in the early hours of the morning in
readiness for the attack.

In this attack two Druze police officers were shot dead by
the attackers before the three terrorists were neutralized by security forces
on the Temple Mount.

The sensitivity, indeed the volatility, of this location is
significant. For too long emotional language has been used by Palestinian
politicians and Islamic religious leaders to stoke the flames of violence in
the name of this holy place.

While Israel safeguards the flow of Muslim worshipers to the
third most holy shrine in Islam and reduces any Jewish presence on Judaism’s
most holy site, too many people choose deliberately to make inflammatory
statements. Mahmoud Abbas, reneged on his responsibility to induce an
atmosphere conducive to peace talks when he spoke about “Jew’s filthy feet
desecrating and defiling our Al-Aqsa Mosque.” When leaders like the
President of the Palestinian Authority incite with words such as “We will
bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Allah” we can expect no
less than deadly terror attacks emanating from the area of the Temple Mount.

What Jewish filthy feet was he referring to? Those of Jews
who go up to the Temple Mount with deep respect for being closer to the
presence of God? Or the police who constantly have to respond to young Arabs
who store rocks and Molotov cocktail bombs in the mosques and then demonstrate
in violence against the Jews praying below at the Western Wall.

Now we have evidence that handguns and Carl Gustav rifles
are being stored on the Temple Mount by Muslim Arabs looking for trouble.

Israel did the right thing by introducing metal detectors at
the entrance of the holy site. One would have thought that caring religious
leaders, worshipers, and politicians would have applauded this move that
ensures the safety of everyone who goes up to devote their soul to their god.
But no. The uproar and incitement ratcheted up another notch. The Palestinian
Authority called for a day of rage. Violent protests broke out in Kalandiya,
Shuafat and Bethlehem by Palestinian Muslim rioters. Rocks and Molotov
cocktails were thrown at security officers by the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem. Absurdly,
Muslim worshipers refused to enter the Temple Mount as a protest against the
metal detectors placed there to protect their safety.

Compare that to what Israelis and visitors to Israel have to
experience. Metal detectors are a common sight at entrances to official
buildings, transport stations, shopping malls. As every traveler knows, metal
detectors have become a compulsory component at all airports. They are placed
there as a result of the terrorism such as those practiced daily by
Palestinians whipped up by the indoctrination and incitement of their political
and religious leaders.

We are all burdened by these necessary checks. They keep us
safe. But, it seems, there are those, from within whose society the murdering
terrorists come, who are prepared to commit further acts of violence in
protection of their rights to carry murderous firearms into their mosques and
holy places.

Barry Shaw is the Senior Associate for Public Diplomacy
at the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the author of ‘Fighting
Hamas, BDS, and Anti-Semitism.’

1 comment:

King of Saudi Arabia personally intervened in Temple Mount Crisis saying that metal detectors are ‘routine’ at religious sites. Yet as reported in The Times of Israel yesterday Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the even the bloody US are reportedly upping the pressure on Israel to remove metal detectors newly installed at the entrances to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount complex by Friday. Disgraceful the pressure being brought upon Israel for just trying to defend itself.